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November 30, 2005

Torture: Important Intelligence Tool or Just Plain Ridiculous?

At the dentist's office yesterday morning, I read a Newsweek essay by Senator McCain. He was making a pretty good argument against the use of torture. Now, I don't think most people think torture is a good idea, so it's not too difficult to make an argument againt it, unless you're Dick Cheney.

McCain's points were interesting - he of course made the moral point (that DUH, torture is WRONG), but he also pointed out that it doesn't really work. People threatened with or actually in the process of having their fingernails pulled out may very well say anything to get you to stop. I don't know about you, but a little waterboarding or electric shock to the genitals could make me cough up some dirt on my company's by-laws, whether or not I actually knew what they were.

Still eerier was the way they categorized torture. Apparently, Cheney thinks anything short of organ failure or death is acceptable. There was some talk of bad smells versus cold water versus sleep deprivation (though I've been subjected to THAT, and while it makes you pretty grumpy and maybe a little depressed, it isn't enough to break you). Things like bad smells or having to stand for long periods of time are just "torture lite," and are apparently also "commonly accepted." The very discussion of what is and isn't cruel and inhuman seems a little too Orwellian for me.

What is going on with our administration? When did we become the bad guys?

Comments

Torture: Important Intelligence Tool or Just Plain Ridiculous?

At the dentist's office yesterday morning, I read a Newsweek essay by Senator McCain. He was making a pretty good argument against the use of torture. Now, I don't think most people think torture is a good idea, so it's not too difficult to make an argument againt it, unless you're Dick Cheney.

McCain's points were interesting - he of course made the moral point (that DUH, torture is WRONG), but he also pointed out that it doesn't really work. People threatened with or actually in the process of having their fingernails pulled out may very well say anything to get you to stop. I don't know about you, but a little waterboarding or electric shock to the genitals could make me cough up some dirt on my company's by-laws, whether or not I actually knew what they were.

Still eerier was the way they categorized torture. Apparently, Cheney thinks anything short of organ failure or death is acceptable. There was some talk of bad smells versus cold water versus sleep deprivation (though I've been subjected to THAT, and while it makes you pretty grumpy and maybe a little depressed, it isn't enough to break you). Things like bad smells or having to stand for long periods of time are just "torture lite," and are apparently also "commonly accepted." The very discussion of what is and isn't cruel and inhuman seems a little too Orwellian for me.

What is going on with our administration? When did we become the bad guys?